


Bright Side

by Sholio



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Community: bringthehappy, Friendship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-17
Updated: 2010-08-17
Packaged: 2017-10-11 03:30:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/107859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sholio/pseuds/Sholio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For "bringthehappy" on LJ - prompt: Zuko/Gaang, "truth". He's meditating in his room, not brooding in the dark. Really. (Late season three)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bright Side

There are a thousand ways to lie to yourself, and a million reasons. Zuko knows them all. But he's helpless in the face of these facts: Aang's honest affection, freely offered, though he knows he hasn't earned it. Katara's forgiveness. Toph's acceptance. Sokka's cheerful camaraderie.

For all the lies and self-delusion that it took to get him to the Western Air Temple in the first place, the truth Zuko knows, deep at heart, is this: no apology, no matter how heartfelt, makes up for all those times he tried to harm and capture and kill them. He can't fix it, can't make up for it. He can only move forward, and try not to do more damage than he already has.

But this, too, is truth: they understand that he's trying, and accept it. Accept _him_. Kind of maybe actually like him a little. And for that, he's willing to give up all the self-deluding, self-protecting lies, and face the naked ugliness of his own soul, the bitter realities of his past. He's done terrible things, with his eyes wide open, in full awareness of the facts. He's threatened, damaged, destroyed. It's a hard truth to face, but he knows that in the end, it's better to see reality for what it is than to be swept away by a happy, ultimately delusional lie --

"You're brooding again, Sifu Hotman," Aang says cheerfully, bouncing into his nice quiet room (he's meditating in solitude, _not_ brooding in the dark) to airbend a dust devil up his shirt.

"Stop _calling_ me that! I'm your teacher; you're supposed to respect me."

"That _is_ respectful," Aang says, all wide-eyed innocence, and flees with a giggle from Zuko's half-assed attempt at firebending some respect into him.

"I'm your teacher, so it's not if I say it isn't!" Zuko yells after him. "And I'm not brooding! I'm _meditating_! Leave me alone!"

But the truth is this: he doesn't actually mind at all.


End file.
